Electrical connection for sad-irons and the like.



E. A. RUTBNBER;

ELECTRICAL CONNECTION PoR SAD IRoNs AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED DEG. 10, 1912.

1,091,767. Patented 11111.31, 1914.

S14/vanto@ v sanas rar orarie.

EDWIN A. RUTENBELR., OF LOGASPORT, INDIANA, ASSIGNQR T0 THE RUTENBER 'ELECTRIC COMPANY, 0F LOGNSPOBT, I-NDIANA, A CORPORATION 0F INDIANA.

ELECTRCAL CONNECTION'FOR SAD-IROS AND THE LKE.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN A. RUTENBER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Logansport, county of Cass, and State of Indiana, have invent-ed a certain new and useful Electrical Connection for Sad-Irons and the like, of which the followingis a specification.

rlhis invention is an electrical connection and a sad iron for use therewith, said connection being adapted for separably attaching a feedl conductor to an apparatus of a suitable character for utilizing the energy of an electric current supplied by said conductor.

The object of the invention is to enable a conductor to be attached to, or disconnected from, the current-utilizing apparatus by the simple operation of slipping one' member into and out of coperative relation to a second member, and4 at the Sametime to'effectively insulate the metallic parts of said connection, thus simplifying and expediting the operations of connecting and disconnecting the conductor;

My electrical connection is useful, more particularly, as a means for attaching and det-aching a conductor to an electrically heated sad iron, although it will be.under stood that its use is not restricted to a specified tool or apparatus, but in the example shown in the drawings, thatmember which is attached to the iron is so positioned that the posts are advantageously exposed for convenient access to the member yattached to the conductor. p

The invention, in a preferred form of construction, embodies two members composed o'f insulating material, one member being provided with a plurality of metal terminal posts which are part-ly incased by the member itself and which extend upwardly from said member so as to be exposed to easy access, whereas the second member is provided with metal socket sleeves,'each split or divided for a part of its length and threaded externally so that the sleeves are screwed int-o the material composing the member for the purpose of incasing said sleeves by the member. The socket sleeves of the second named member are inserted into sockets which are separated by an intervening wall of insulating material to the end that said sleeves will become insulated effectively, and said member is provided Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 3f, 1914i..

application mea December 1o, 1912. serial No. 735,881.

with separated passages for the recept-ion of the leading in wires which are in electrical engagement with said sleeves.

.Other features of the invention, and the advantages thereof, will appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the drawings.

ln the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated one practical embodiment of the invention, but the construction shown therein is to be understood as illustrative,l only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, through an electrically heated sad iron equipped with the separable connection of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view with the top member and handle of the sad iron removed showing the bottom member, the electrical resistance therein, and one member of the separable connect-ion which is secured fixedly to the bottom member of the sad iron. Fig. 3 is an end view of the upper removable'member of the separable connect-ion. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale of the upper member of the separable connection.

rlhe sad iron consists of two members A B, an electrical resistance C positioned within member A, a handle D of any suitable form, and means, such as bolt E, for rigidly connecting the handle to the iron and members A B to each other. v

Member A is composed of heat absorbing metal, or a composition of metals, said member being preferably cast in one piece. Said member is provided in its upper face with a longitudinal channel a extending substantially parallel with the edges thereof, and

within this channel is positioned the electricalresistance C. Said resistance is a fine wire wound upon a core e composed of mica ber, the insulation c bein at the bottom and at the respective side wa ls of channel a.

Member B is composed of a hollow casting, the edges of which are fitted firmly to member A, and the two members are assembled in accurate relation by dowel pins of one member entering coperating sockets of the other member. Member B is provided with a chamber b, and within this hollow member is confined heat resisting material F, such as one or more layers of asbestos.

v the edge portions of which enter a recess f provided in the edge of member B, whereby the heat resisting material F is clamped firmly in position between the two members t-he bolt being screwed into a threaded socket provided in membei1 A, whereby the single bolt operates to firmly clamp the handle to member B and to couple members A B together.

The separable connection consists of members G H, each composed of insulating mal terial, one of said members (G) being secured fixedly in position to member A and inclosed within the chamber of hollow member B, whereas the other member H is re' movable at will in order to connect and disconnect conductor I. The member G is shown as consisting of a base portion g and an upwardly inclined portion g', said base portion g being fashioned to rest firmly upon the base member A of the sad iron. The member is secured firmly in position by screws g2 which pass through suitable apertures in member G 'and enter threaded sockets provided in base member A. The upstanding portion g of socket member G is provided with-inclined sockets g8, within which is partially incased the terminal posts J, two of which are employed. These posts are provided with screw-'shaped lower heads j, and said posts are externallyl threaded for a part of their length. Each post is inserted throughthe bottom of coupling'member G before it is secured to base member A, so that the head j of the post will engage with an internal shoulder ofsocket g3. IOn the threaded part of each post is screwed 'a clamping nut j and a check nut jz, said nut j coperating with the head y' in ixedly securing the post to socket member G. One

end of the resistance wire is electricallyc'onnected to one post-J by the coperating nuts y" y'2, whereas the otherend of said resistance wire C is attached in a similar manner to the other post J by the nuts j jz thereof, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings; The posts are thus secured firmly to, and partially incased by, the coupling member G in a manner to electrically insulate said posts from each other, and these posts are provided with reduced end portions, the lat` ter extending upwardly from the insulating member G and normally exposed to convenient access. The upstanding parts of the posts extend into the chamberbf a thimble K, the latter being cast 1n a single piece with the top member Band communicating w-ith chamber b thereof. The thimble serves as a housing for the upwardly eX- tending part of posts J so as to prevent the latter from being str uck or injured, but as the posts are positioned substantially centrally within the thimble they are adapted to readily enter the detachable member H of the coupling. As shown, the posts are inclined with respect to the horizontal plane of base member A, and thimble K is inclined to top member B similarly to the inclination of posts J to base member A.

The removable coupling member H, shown more particularly in Figs. 3 and 4, is provided with two sockets h h separated by an intervening bridge wall it. In addition to the sockets h, said member H is provided with longitudinal passagesl, and at its upper part with a socket l', said passages Z being provided substantially in the web h so that the passages l are separated from, or independent of, sockets L. The conductor I enters socket l of coupling member H, and the wires z' of this conductor are separated so as to extend through passages Z, said wires z' being insulated from electrical contact with each other by t-he insulating material composing the web or wall h of the member.

The sockets are enlarged at their outer ends to produce shoulders at 71.2, and' within these sockets are positioned metal sleeves M, each. sleeve having an 'enlarged screw head m the shoulder of which is adapted for ab'utting engagement with the shoulder 71,2 within the socket. Each sleeve is threaded externally for a part of lts length, and for the' remainder of its length the sleeve is provided with longitudinal slits n, shown more clearly in Fig. 4, whereby the end portion of the sleeve is made elastic so as to expand and secure good frictional contact with the posts. The threaded lsleeve is screwed into the material of insulating member H for the purpose of securing the sleeve ixedly in position within the member, said sleeve being substantially incased by the member and the two sleeves being electrically insulated by the web or wall 7L. The wires i of conductor I are extended from passageslinto the sockets h, and the end portions of said wires are twisted around the respective sleeves so that the wires are clamped between -the shoulders h2 of member H and the heads lml of sleeves M, therebyv securin good electrical contact of the wires. with t e sleeves.

When it is desired to connect the 'two members G H, member H is thrust into thimble K, which o eration slides the sleeves Mover the expose end portions ofposts J. Member H is inserted into thimble K so as to be partly incased thereby, and the posts v the posts. Current is adapted to flow through one conductor, the sleeve attached thereto, the post upon which the sleeve ismounted, thence through the resistance coil and out through the other post, sleeve and conductor, whereby current is adapted to flow through the resistance coil so that the heat evolved will be communicated directly to the base member A. of the sad iron.

It will be observed that member H can be easily pulled out of the thimble, as a result of which the sleeves are withdrawn from the posts, thus readily separating the two members of the coupling. For connecting conductor I to the said iron it is only necessary to insert member H into thimble K, whereupon the sleeves of said member H will engage frictienally with posts J, thereby connecting the resistance coil in circuit with the conductor l.

Having thus fully described the invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. An electrical connection of the kind specified embodying a member composed` ot' insulating material and provided with longitudinal sockets separated by an intervening wall and with wire passages separate from said Sockets, a plurality of metal sleeves positioned within the sockets and incased by the materialxof said member, said sleeves being -in electrical engagement with leading in wires adapted to extend through said wire passages, a second member composed of insulating material, and metal posts fixed to and partly incased by the second member, said metal posts projecting outwardly from the second member so as to be exposed for convenient engagement by the metal sleeves of the first member.

2. An electrical connection of the kind specified embodying a member composed of' insulating material and provided with sockets, a plurality of posts partly incased by the sockets and clamped to said member,

said posts projecting outwardly from the' wires and having frictional engagement' with the exposed arts of said posts.

3. An electricalJ connection of the kind specified embodying a member composed of' insulating material and provided with sockets, a plurality of posts partly incased by the sockets and clamped to said member, asecond member com osed of insulating material and provide with sockets, and threaded metal sleeves screwed into the sockets and incased within the material of the second member, said sleeves being split for a part of their length and adapted for frictional engagement with said posts.

4. The combination with a two-part translating device, one part of which is chambered, and a resistance coil, of a thimble extending upwardly from said chambered member, a coupling member composed of insulating material and secured fixedly to one part and,within the chambered part, a plurality of posts secured to said coupling member and extending upwardly within the thimble, a second coupling member composed of insulating material and insertible into the thimble, a conductor attached to the second member, a-nd a plurality of sleeves secured to the second member and positioned for frictional engagement with said posts.

' ln testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification in the presence of' two subscribing witnesses.

EDWliN A. RUTENBER.

Witnesses J. E. DE LONG, ETHYL MOON, 

